In this week's paper we asked: Should Milsom Street be pedestrianised?
After a lorry got stuck on a bollard in Milsom Street this week, causing huge traffic delays, calls were made to pave and pedestrianise it. Every week in the Chronicle Debate we present two sides of an issue – however this week we couldn't find a single person who thought this was a bad idea. We'd love to know what you think – do you support the pedestrianisation of Milsom Street, or should it be left as it is? Tweet us: @bathchron, or email news@.co.uk
Partner, Carter Jonas LLP, Mike McElhinney
Closing busy shopping streets to vehicles between 10am and 5pm daily is long overdue, as the incident with a lorry in Milsom Street showed – an incident which in different circumstances could have injured pedestrians.
Milsom Street and New Bond Street are a nationally acknowledged retail destination for fashion and designer household retailing, but how much better an environment would they offer shoppers without cars, lorries and buses, both parked and moving, to navigate through as they explore the shops? Stall Street and Westgate Street often resemble a lorry park – and the small shops in Upper Borough Walls are regularly obscured by vans and trucks. Old Bond Street and Union Street are so much more shopper friendly and the fully pedestrianised SouthGate area sets the standard – wholly traffic free.
Closing the streets to traffic (except emergency vehicles) between 10am and 5pm would encourage vibrant street scenes: Street vendors, buskers and outside seating for the various eateries – imagine the continental feel of Raphaels and Gascoyne Place in Sawclose with outside seating – or in Milsom Street, Loch Fyne, Miller & Carter and Café Rouge.
Some say delivery vehicles need to get in during the day but the reason they come in such numbers is because they can! Other less 'open' cities are serviced out of hours and as a result Bath will always be a planned day time delivery! Some delivery vehicles even stay parked up in the streets in the city centre while drivers get their lunch!
Most comparable destinations in historic cities in Europe have grasped this nettle: Why not Bath? Bizarrely, the biggest "gainers" other than the shopping public, would probably be B&NES Council, owners of most of Milsom Street, Stall Street and New Bond Street, as it is generally acknowledged that rents increase more when areas are traffic free. It could be self-funding! So come on B&NES!